More than 800 hospitality businesses have written to the Prime Minister calling for a cut in VAT to help stem the closures and job cuts across the industry.
The “VAT’s the problem” campaign wants VAT on hospitality businesses to be halved to 10% and point out that Andy Burnham, when still mayor of Manchester, argued for a cut in the hospitality VAT rate in line with Europe.
Among the signatories to the letter are Nic and Louise Maclean of the Scottish chain, Signature Group, as well as the chef and restaurateur Tom Kitchin, and the manager of the Sheraton Grand in Edinburgh, Martijn Zengerink.
Others include the Cameron White of Hotel Indigo, Princes Street, Edinburgh, and the CEOs of pubs groups Marston’s and Mitchell’s & Butlers.
The letter to Downing Street arrives on the back of the Prime Minister’s decision to cut business rates by 20% for pubs, clubs and live music venues in his first week in office.
Hospitality owners highlight the impact of increased employer national insurance contributions and a rise in the minimum wage.
“It’s time for a fairer tax burden for hospitality” says the letter. “Without action, closures will only continue to accelerate, jobs will continue to be lost and opportunities for young people reduced.”
More than 370,000 people have signed the #VATsTheProblem petition calling for a 10% rate of VAT for hospitality, bringing the UK in line with the European average.
The signatories say to the PM: “We trust we can count on your support, following your comments in February this year that you would ‘argue for a VAT rate more consistent with what you find in Europe because of the social value that your businesses bring to places and towns’.
“A lower rate of VAT for hospitality can turn closures into openings, lost jobs into new jobs, and boarded up high streets into thriving centres of community.
“Alongside your policy to reform business rates for the high street, we urge you to bring forward your plans to deliver a lower rate of VAT for hospitality.”
The chef Tom Kerridge, another signatory to the letter, said: “The reality is that 20% VAT is holding hospitality back. Hospitality is different from many other businesses because so much of what we spend our money on is our teams.
“You can reclaim VAT on a product, but you can’t reclaim VAT on a person. That makes a 20% rate particularly tough for a sector where labour is one of our biggest costs.”
The campaign is supported by hospitality trade bodies and organisations, including UKHospitality, the British Beer & Pub Association, the British Institute of Innkeeping and Code Hospitality.
#Chefs #hoteliers #join #call #cut #VAT #Daily #Business